Typewriting machine



July 11, 1933.

J. J. KITTEL TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 14, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l la l l MI" I July 11, 1933. J. J. K11-TEL.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 14, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gttornegs- July 11, 1933. J. J. KITTEL TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 14, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 RAW@ ik xlw M m u 5,. S S m@ M m k@ Im. \i\\\1m. mmv; U H l.|. rik m i m\% n J m N wlmm.. l m\ 7W W ,EY m\ l. ll f B b -:i@ km n .A il. w M kr 1. \R [i :QA l L llmw.. lm ll l H21 v -l o Oni if I1 wmv .Pw b u w l ,NN l m.- .NIHH o 9| IT@ m" mw 5% i v i (l Clttorneg s.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 11, 1933. .1 J. KaTTEl.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Original Filed DeC. 14, 1951 Il! llil U -fL Il Patentedvv July 11, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF'lcE JOHN J. KITTEL, OF ST. ALBANS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TOKROYAL TYPEWRI'IQER COM- PANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TYBEWRITING MACHINE Original application led December 14, 1931, Serial No. 539,919. Divided and this application led February 13, 1932.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in typewritingmachines generally, although more particularly to a line Y spacing mechanism for typewriting machines fortwriting on cards or other :Hat work sheets, and constitutes a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 539,919, filed Dec. 14, 1931.

Among the several objects of the present invention are to provide a flat platen and a frame for pivotally supporting the platen whereby the platen may be moved vertically relative to the frame; to provide means for line spacing the platen in different positions of the frame, and to provide such a line spacing mechanism which is extremely simple in construction, easy of operation, and durable in use.

1n the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a typewriting machine constructed in accordance with my invention, the view showing the platen in lower case position, l Y Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section, 25 showing the platen in upper case position,

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the platen supporting frame, and the line spacing mechanism for the platen, certainvof the parts being shown in section, the view being taken o on the irregular line 3-3 of Figure 2,'

.Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure isa cross section taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a front elevation ofthe platen and the platen supporting frame, and

Figure 7 is a detail side elevation showing the shift key locked in its depressed position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the machine includes generally a main frame A, a shift frame B, a carriage C- which is supported on the shift frame', an escapement mechanism D for the carriage, a segment E -supported on the main frame, a plurality of type carriers F, and a plurality of key levers G for actuating the type carriers.

The main frame includes side plates .5, 5 which are formed with downwardly extending passages or slots 6 arranged in registry Serial No. 592,799. v l l in a transverse plane directly in rear of the segment E.

A fiat platenv H is supported on a fiat platen-supporting frame J which is provided at its sides with rearwardly extending brackets 7, 7 which are pivotally mounted on a rotary shaft 8 which is journaled in the end i plates 9, 9 of the carriage, thus providing means to supportthe platen for swinging movements about a horizontal axis. The platen H and the platen-supporting frame J are normally disposed in a plane extending upwardly and rearwardly with the lower portions thereof disposedrdirectly in' rear ofe on the frame for relative vertical line spacing movements. The swinging movement of the frame J is limited by upper and lower eccentrically mounted stops 10 and 11 which are mounted on the end plates of the carriage for cooperation with laterally extending wings 12, 12 of the brackets 7 said stops being respectively disposedv in rear of and in front of the vertical plane containing the longitudinal axis of the pivot shaft 8.

Upper and lower spring clips 13 and 14 are securedv to the platen H for the purpose of engaging either the upperor lower edge of a work sheet or a card Z, or both edges thereof, so as to retain the work sheet or card in flat relation against'the print-ing or impact receiving surface of the platen.

Each type carrier F comprises a type bar 15v which is pivoted as at 16 and includes a head 17 having flat upper and lower case types 18 and 19 respectively, whose printing faces are in plane at an obtuse angle to each other. The printing face of the lower case type 19 is disposed in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the type bar. The type bars in their normal position are supported by a head rest 20 secured to the main frame. Each type bar is connected to a key lever through the medium of the links indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 21. The platen I-I is normally upwardly and rearwardly inclined as shown in Figure 1 and is therefore normally disposed in parallelism with the printing face of the lower case type v.19 when the latter is in printing position,

while, at this time the printing face of the upper case type 18 is in a plane at an acute angle to the platen and consequently the upper case type will not print when the lower case type is printing.

The escapement mechanism D is actuated from each type bar action through the medium of a universal frame 22, a link 23, a lever 24, a link 25, and a lever 26.

In order to swing the platen-supporting frame J from one extreme printing position to the other, I have journaled a rock shaft 27 on the side plates 5, 5 of the main frame. Fixed to this shaft is a lever arm 28 which extends upwardly and is provided with a fork 29 at its upper end which embraces a grooved roller 30 loosely mounted on a tie rod 31 which extends between the brackets 7 7 and is connected at its ends thereto. Also fixed to the rock shaft 27 is a depending lever arm 32 to which the forward end of a rearwardly extending link 33 is pivotally connected as at 34. The rear end of the link 33 is connected to the upper arm of a lever 35 by a pin and slot connection 36, the lever being fulcrumed intermediate its ends as at 37 to the adjacent side plate 5\of the main frame. The upper end o the lever 35 is pivotally connected to the forward end of a rearwardly extending link 38, the rear end of said link having a pin and slot connection 39 with the shift frame B which is pivoted as at v4() on the main frame. Consequently when the lever 35 is rocked so as to exert a forward pull on the link 38 the shift frame B, together with the platen H and supporting frame Jtwill be raised from its normal lower case position to its upper case position, and concomitantly the platen-supporting frame J will be rocked from its lower case printing position show n in Figure 1 to its upper case printing position shown in Figure 2.

In order to elevate the shift4 frame B and the parts mounted thereon to upper c ase position, I have provided the usual shift key lever 41 and associated therewith in the usual manner is a shift lock lever 42, both levers being fulcrumed on a cross shaft 43. The shift key lever 41 is provided with an upstanding arm 44 to which is connected a rearwardly extending link 45 which is connected to the upper end of a lever 46 fulciumed as at 47 to the adjacent side plate 5 of the main frame. A rearwardly extending link 48 is connected at its forward end to the lower end ofthe lever 46, and the rear end of the link 48 is connected tothe lower end of the lever 35. Thus upon depression of the shift key lever 41, the link 48 will be moved rearwardly and the link 38 will be moved foi'- wardly, thus elevating the shift frame B to upper case position.

lt is desirable to lock the shift frame B in its lower case position and also in its upper case position. To this end, the shift frame is provided with a lug 49, and pivotaily mounted on the side plate 5 of the main frame as at 50 are latches 51 and 52. These latches are alternately movable into engagement with the lug 49, the latch 51 engaging the top of the lug to retain the shift frame in its lower case position whereas the latch 52 engages the bottom of the lug to retain the shift frame in its upper case position. The latch 5l is retained in its normal position by a spring 51a. The latch 5l is connected by a link 53 with a lever arm 54 which is pivoted as at 55 to the adjacent side plate 5 of the main frame and has its other end provided with a fork 56 which has slidable and pivotal connection with the pivot 57 which connects the lever 35 and link 38. Thus when the lever 35 is rocked, the latch 5l will be moved into and out of engagement with the top of the lug 49. The latch 52 is fulciumed intermediate its ends on the pivot 50 and its lower aim is connected to a forwardly extending link 58 which in turn is connected to an upstanding arm 59 of the shift lock lever 42. Thus upon depression of the shift lock lever 42 the shift key lever 41 will be depressed, and during the first part of the depression movement of the shift key lever the latch 51 will be ieleased from the lug 49 on the shift frame due to the loose connection 39, and upon further depression of the shift key lever the shift frame will be elevated to its upper case position and simultaneously the platen H and its supporting frame J will be swung from the eX- treme printing position shown in Figure 1 to the other extreme printing position shown in Figure 2. At the same time, the depression of the shift lock lever 42 will swing the latch 52 rearwardly to a position under the lug 49 to thereby lock the shift frame in its upper case position. Upon release of the shift lock lever 42, said lever and the shift key lever 41 will return to the normal 'positions under the influence of the usual springs, the latch 52 will be swung forwardly out of engagement with the lug 49. the shift frame will be lowered, the latch 51 will be reengaged with the lug 49, and the platen H and supporting frame J will be swung to their normal positions, as shown in Figure 1.

It is also desirable to lock the platen, supporting frame J in each of its extreme printing positions of inclination whereby the frame will be held'against swinging movement towards the other inclined printingr position. To this end, the lever arm 32 is gaging the rear side of the pin 60. It will be observed that when the latch 51 is released from the lug 49 the latch arm 61 will be released from the pin 60, and that when the latch 52 is released from the lug 49 the latch arm 62 will be released from the pin 60. Thus inthe normalor lower case position Iof the frame J, as shown in Figure 1, the

latch arm 61 cooperates with the pin 60 to lock the frame against swinging movement toward the upper case printing position,

l whereas the latchl arm 62 cooperates with the pin 60 to lock the frame against swinging movement toward the lower case pr1nt.

ing position as shown in Figure 2.

lt will be observed that when each key lever Gr is depressed, the carriage C will be moved the distance of one letter space, and during this movement of the parriage the platen frame swinging means will remain 1n operative relation to the frame by reason of the tie rod 31 sliding through the grooved Aroller with which the upper end of the lever 28 has sliding engagement. My invention also comprises means for line spacing the platen H in either printing position thereof, the platen being movable vertically relative to the supporting frame J. The

platen is mounted in a recess 63 formed in the .front face of the frame J. Fixed to the side edges of the platen are racks 64, 64 and fixed to the side walls of the recess are racks 65, 65. Ball races 66, 66 are conjointly formed in the side edges of the platen and the side walls of the recess, 'and located in said races are anti-friction balls 67 surrounding which are gear pinions 68 engaging the racks 64,65 on each side of the platen. By means of the gear pinions and racks, the balls are not only retained in spaced relation but are held 'against gravita-ting. Therefore for the purpose of line spacing, the frame J is providedv with spaced vertical'slots 69, 69 which extend above and below the shaft 8. Rack bars 70, 7 0 which are secured to the rear face of the platen H, project rearwardly into the v slots 69, 69 with the teeth of the bars projecting slightly beyond the rear face of the frame J. The slots 69 are about twice the length '5S ends of the slots are adapted to be engaged by the upper and low`er ends of the rack bars of the rack bars 70, and the upper and lower and thereby limit the upward and downward movement of the platen H. Pinions 71, 72 which are fixed to the shaft 8 are in constant mesh with the rack bars' 70, 70. As pre- .therefore I have vprovided means for permitting the swinging of the platen frame withand disc guides, and not by the teeth of the rack bars and pinions. Thus an involute curve will be formed during the swinging of the platen frame from one printing position to the other, and consequently the pitch line 75 of the rack will always lie in a direction tangent to the pitch line 74a of the pinion axis. In other words, the rear guiding edge of each flange 7 3 is disposed in registry with the pitch line of the rack teeth, and the periphery of each disc guide 74 is dispsed in registry with the pitch line ofthe pinion teeth and in rolling contact with the guiding edge of the iange. A line spacing lever 76 which is pivoted on the Vcarriage operates a pawl 77 which actuates a ratchet wheel 78 loose on a shaft 79 journaled in the end plates 9, 9 of the carriage and provided with a hand lwheel 79a. Fixed to the ratchet wheel is a driving clutch member 80 which ,is .normally in clutched engagement with a drivenclutch member 81V keyed to the shaft 79 for movements longitudinally therealong. Fixed to the driven clutch member 81 1s a gear 82 which is in constant mesh with a relatlvely wide idler gear 83 journaled on a shaft 84 fixed to the adjacent end vplate 9 of the carriage, the idler gear 83 being in constant mesh with the pinion gear 72. Thus when the driven clutch member 81 is moved back and forth along theshaft 79 to couple and uncouple the member with the driving clutch member 80, the gear 82 will remain in mesh with the relatively wide idler gear 83 and thereby the shaft 79 will remain in operative driving relation with the rack bars 70, 70 of the platen H. The driven clutch member 81 is normally held in engagement with the 'driving clutch member 80 by coil springs 85 which are disposed between a collar 86v fixed to the shaft 79 and the gear 82, the

springs respectively surrounding guide pinsA wheel 78, the platen is retained against drop- 'ping by gravity in Y any line space position thereof. members 80 and 81, and thereby not only permit the platen H to gravitate to its normal or lowermost position'with the lower ends of the rack bars 70 resting on the ends of the slots 69 of the platen frame J, but also pern order to separate the clutch mit of the platen H being fractionally line spaced, I have mounted a plunger 88 in a longitudinal groove 89 in the shaft 79 and have provided a fingerpiece 9() on the plunger at the outer end thereof and adjacent the hand wheel 79a. The driven clutch member 81 is provided with a tongue 91 which projects into the groove 89, whereby upon inward movement of the plunger 88 the driven clutch member 81 will be separated from the driving clutch member 80. Upon release of the plunger 88, the springs 85 will return the part-s to their normal positions.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the platen H in its normal or lower case printing position is shown in Figure 1; that in this position the carriage is locked against upward movement by the latch 51 cooperating with the lug 49 on the shift frame; that the platen frame J is locked against swinging movements toward the other inclined printing position by the latch arm 6l engaging the pin that the face of the platen H lies in parallelism with the face of the lower case type 19 when the type bar is in printing position; that upon depression of the shift lock key 42 or shift key lever 4l the latch 51 will be released from the lug 49, the latch arm 61 will be released from the pin 60, the shift frame B together with the carriage C, platen frame J and platen H- will be raised to upper case position and the platen frame swung to the other inclined printing position wherein'the platen face will lie in parallelism with the face of the upper case type 18when the type bar is in printing position, the latch 52 will engage with the lug 49 to lock the'carriage in upper case position,

and the latch arm 62 will engage the pin 60 to lock the platen against swinging movement towards the other inclined printing position; that the platen is movable in letter space direction without interfering with the means for swinging the platen; that the platen may be readily line spaced upwardly along the supporting frame J by the lever 76; that the platen is retained in any line space position by means of the roll detent 77a and ratchet wheel 78, and that the clutch in the line spacing operating mechanism may be readily opened to permit the platen to gravitate to its initial position or to permit of the platen being fractionally line spaced.

The shift frame B together with the carriage C and other parts which are mounted on the frame, are counter-balanced by springs 92, as shown in Figure 1. Upper and lower` cushion stops 93 and 94 are associated with the shift frame to limit the upper and lower movements thereof, as shown in Figure 2.

In order to lock the shift frame in its upper case position, I have pivotally mounted a lock arm 95 on the main frame for cooperation with pins 96 and 97 which are respectively fixed to the shift lock key 42 and the' shift key lever 41, and have connecteda release spring 98 to the lock arm andvmam frame, the construction being similar to that shown in the patent to Handley 1,244,729, oct. ao, 1917.-

Claims directed to a fiat platen typewriter generally form the subject matter of my (zo-pending application Serial No. 632,451, filed Sept. 9, 1932, and claims directed to the case shift mechanism form the subject matter of my eo-pending application Serial No. 632,452, med Sept. 9, 1932.

I claim:-

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a flat platen-supporting frame having spaced vertical slots, of a flat platen slidably mounted on the front face of said frame for line space movements, means for supporting a work sheet on said platen, a pair of rack bars fixed to the platen and projecting rearwardly through said slots, and means for effecting line space movements to the platen including a horizontal shaft disposed in rear ,of the platen, pinions fixed to the shaft and engaging the rack bars, an operating shaft disposed in parallelism with the pinion carrjr` ingshaft, a manually operable ratchet mechanism including a ratchet wheel journaled on the operating shaft, a releasable clutch connecting the ratchet wheel and the operating shaft, a gear connectiony between one of the pinions and the driven clutch member, and manually operable means for opening said clutch.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a horizontal shaft, of a [lat platensupporting frame disposed in front of and pivotally sup orted intermediate its ends on said shaft, a at platen mounted on the frame for vertical line space movements, a vertically disposed rack secured to the platen, a pinion fixed to the shaft and engaging said rack bar, and guiding means between the rack and pinion'for maintaining the pitch lines of the rack teeth and pinion teeth in register duringswinging movements of the frame platen.`

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a horizontal shaft, of a flat platensupporting frame disposed in front of and pivotally supported intermediate its ends on said shaft, a Hat platen mounted on the frame for vertical line space movements, a vertically disposed rack secured to the platen, a pinion fixed to the shaft and engaging said rack bar, and guiding means between the rack and pinion for maintaining the pitch lines of the rack teeth and pinion teeth in register during swinging movements of the frame and platen, said guiding means includl ing a guide ange fixed to the platen and having its rear guiding edge disposed in register with the pitch line of the rack teeth, and a disc guide mounted on the shaft and having its periphery in register with the pitch line llO of the pinion teeth and in rolling Contact with the guiding edge of the guide flange.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a iiat platen-supporting frame mounted to swing about a horizontal axis from one inclined printing position to another and provided with spaced vertically extending slots, of a flat platen mounted on said frame to swing therewith and movable vertically relative thereto to dii'erent line space positions, rack bars secured to the platen and projecting into the slots of the frame, means for supporting a work sheet on said platen, and means including an operating shaft and pinions iixed thereto and engageable with the rack bars for eii'ecting line spacing movements to said platen in either printing position of the frame, the lower ends of the rack bars cooperating with the lower ends of the slots to limit the lowermost position of the platen rela-tive to the frame.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a fiat platen-supporting frame having spaced vertical slots, of a flat platen slidably mounted on the front face of said frame for line space movements, means for supporting a work sheet on said platen, a pair of rack bars iiXed to the platen and projecting rearwardly through said slots, and means for 'effecting line space movements to the platen 

